INTRODUCTION TO THE NEW ENGLISH LANGUAGE

PROFICIENCY STANDARDS

The language proficiency standards center on the language needed and used by English

language learners to succeed in school

The 2006 PreK-12 English Language Proficiency

Standards have built from TESOL’s 1997 Pre-K-12

ESL Standards.

National and State AcademicContent Standards

TESOL’s 1997ESL Standards

TESOL’s 2006 PreK-12 English Language Proficiency Standards

Goal 1: To use English to communicate in social settings

Goal 3: To use English in socially and culturally appropriate ways

Goal 2: To use English to achieve academically in all content areas

Standard 1: English language learners communicate for social, intercultural, and instructional purposes within the school setting.

Standard 2: English language learners communicate information, ideas, and concepts necessary for academic success in the area of language arts.

Standard 3: English language learners communicate information, ideas, and concepts necessary for academic success in the area of mathematics.

Standard 4: English language learners communicate information, ideas, and concepts necessary for academic success in the area of science.

Standard 5: English language learners communicate information, ideas, and concepts necessary for academic success in the area of social studies.

1997 ESL Goals 2006 English Language Proficiency Standards

English Language Proficiency

Standard 1:

English language learners communicate in English

for SOCIAL, INTERCULTURAL, AND

INSTRUCTIONAL purposes within the school setting.

English Language Proficiency

Standard 2: English language learners communicate information,

ideas, and concepts necessary for academic success in the content

area of LANGUAGE ARTS.

English Language Proficiency

Standard 3: English language learners communicate information,

ideas, and concepts necessary for academic success in the content area of MATHEMATICS.

English Language Proficiency

Standard 4: English language learners communicate information,

ideas, and concepts necessary for academic success in the content

area of SCIENCE.

English Language Proficiency

Standard 5: English language learners communicate information,

ideas, and concepts necessary for academic success in the content

area of SOCIAL STUDIES

We refer to the English language proficiency standards as

1. Social, intercultural, and instruction language

2. The language of language arts3. The language of math4. The language of science5. The language of social studies

Organization of the Standards

The standards and their components are presented in the form of a matrix.

It is hoped that educators across every content area will use the models presented when working with ELLs.

The Components of the Standards

Four Language DomainsFive Grade Level ClustersLevels of English Language

Proficiency

Four Language Domains

Listening—process, understand, interpret, and evaluate spoken language in a variety of situations

Speaking—engage in oral communication in a variety of situations for an array of purposes and audiences

Reading—process, interpret and evaluate written language, symbols and text with understanding and fluency

Writing—engage in written communication in a variety of forms for an array of purposes and audiences

PreK-K 4-5 6-8 9-12

Five Grade Level Clusters

1-3

STARTING

EMERGING

DEVELOPING

EXPANDING

BRIDGING

1

2

3

4

5

Levels of English Language Proficiency

Writing

Reading

Speaking

Listening

Level 5Bridging

Level 4Expanding

Level 3Developing

Level 2Emerging

Level 1Starting

English Language Proficiency Standards:

Sample Performance Indicator (SPI)

A strand of SPIs

Grade Level Cluster

The Rationale for Developing English Language Proficiency

Standards for English Language Learners

1. The standards-based educational movement is stronger today than ever before.

2. Theory and research support sustained content-driven instruction and assessment for English language learners.

3. Across the states, the English language learner school population is becoming more visible and viable.

4. Federal mandates (namely, the No Child Left Behind Act) have impacted all sectors of the educational community.

5. As a professional organization, TESOL assumes leadership in providing up-to-date resources to the field.